noun: a style of animation that originated and is still heavily centered in Japan.

The word 'anime' is based on the original japanese pronunciation of the american word 'animation.'

The stereotype of the anime style are characters with proportionally large eyes and hair styles and colors that are very colorful and exotic. The plots range from very immature (kiddy stuff), through teenage level, to mature (violence, content, thick plot). The classification of 'hentai' is given to animes of a stong sexual nature.

Although over 95% of anime has nothing perverted about it, most closed-minded idiots think anime is always a form of pronography.

Although most people stop watching 'cartoons' in their early teens, there are 'animes' for all age groups.

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Unlike American cartoons, anime usually has one episode connecting to the next. This would give allowance for a story that is long and can express a good plot and elaborate on characters.

In American society, long-term stories are usually given to shows like Lost, Flashforward, and The Event.

Anime is long-term stories that are cartoons, and are usually cheaper to make.

There are good and bad ones, ones that are horrible at plot and characters, and ones that are good at plot and characters, just like American shows.

A great number of animes are based off of Japanese Comics (a.k.a. Manga).

In short, not all anime is gay and not all are awesome either. You have to dig for the good ones, and then BAM you have something to spice up your boring, monotonous home life when you've had enough of going outside, or can't go outside, or are worn out from studying, etc. Heck, it makes waiting for texts easier.

Of course, like anything, there are addicts... and anime isn't necessarily a good thing to be addicted with, especially if it gets in the way of your life.

If you can handle the movie Saw and want to get mind blown like Inception, watch Higurashi.

A safe site to watch anime on is Anilinkz, and there are some other sites too. Animeshippuuden is an unsafe site.

Albert: Did you watch Death Note?
Bob: Yeah, it's cool how even though they are so close to each other that they can even shake hands, if one figures out the true identity of the other through wits and smart talking, the other is dead.

The Urban Dictionary Mug

A lot of defintions on here for the word 'anime' have been hopelessly ill-informed. I hope to give a more accurate defintion that doesn't make me sound like an idiot. Anime is a form of animation orginating in Japan. Common elements in characters include large, shiny eyes, often spiky or unusually colored hair, long legs, etc. There are always exceptions to these rules, such as in Hayao Miyazaki's movies, which have more realistic proportions and hair. Often in anime, one episode will continue into the next, instead of each episode being a one-shot. There are several different types, like Shounen, for boys, which typically feature a male protagonist and lots of fighting and action, Shoujo, for girls, with female protagonists and the main focus being romance or comedy. There is also Josei, for young women, which I imagine are like soap operas(Never watched any), and Seinen, for teenagers and young men, which are often horror or thriller animes, and are usually considered too scary for children. There is also shounen/shoujo ai, which is gay/lesbian romance without sex, and yaoi/yuri, which is with sex. Many people say that anime is for 12-year-old dorks, but I myself have watched anime that would scar a 12-year-old for life. They also say anime is porn. There is a category of anime called hentai that is pornographic in nature, but the vast majority is not. Some anime is incredibly good, some is atrocious. And the stereotypes aren't necessarily true for all.

Shounen anime: Naruto, Bleach, Inu-Yasha, Death Note, Pokemon, etc. Some of the most famous anime falls under this category. Can be upbeat and funny, like Naruto, or heavy and complex, like Death Note.

Shoujo anime: Fruits Basket, Sailor Moon, Kaichou wa Maid-Sama, Lucky Star, Vampire Knight. I have mixed feelings about this genre. I very much like Fruits Basket while Sailor Moon made me want to smash my computer.

I don't know any Josei anime...

Seinen Anime: Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni, Elfen Lied, Hellsing, Ghost in the Shell. My favorite genre, although if you want to watch Higurashi or Elfen Lied be prepared for some serious gore and insanity.

Shounen Ai: Kirepapa, Junjou Romantica, Loveless. I know I said shounen ai is gay romance minus sex but JR has some intense guyxguy, just sayin.